Approximately 323 million people visited American national parks in 2025, a 2.7% year-over-year decrease and the first annual decline since 2020.
President Woodrow Wilson in 1916 signed the act creating the National Park Service to leave natural and historic phenomenons "unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations." Since then, our national parks have welcomed visitors from around the world to experience some of the best the country has to offer and showcase the country's natural beauty and cultural heritage. Today, the country's 63 national parks contain at least 247 species of endangered or threatened plants and animals, more than 75,000 archaeological sites, and 18,000 miles of trails.
Stacker compiled a list of the closest national parks to Grants Pass. National parks are ranked by closest straight line distance, measured from representative points in Grants Pass, OR Metro Area and each national park. Estimated driving times are from Here and are only available within the lower 48 states. All featured distances and driving times are estimated using representative locations from the center of each metro and national park—for some places within the metro area, the actual distance may be slightly shorter or longer to reach the closest entryway to a park.
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1 / 63#1. Redwood National Park (California)
- Distance: 78 miles
- Driving time: 2.6 hours
- Date founded: October 2, 1968
- 2025 visitors: 1,202,480 (#25 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 138,999.37 acres
Hank Shiffman // Shutterstock
2 / 63#2. Crater Lake National Park (Oregon)
- Distance: 84 miles
- Driving time: 2.8 hours
- Date founded: May 22, 1902
- 2025 visitors: 632,242 (#36 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 183,224.05 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
3 / 63#3. Lassen Volcanic National Park (California)
- Distance: 169 miles
- Driving time: 5.0 hours
- Date founded: August 9, 1916
- 2025 visitors: 504,777 (#40 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 106,589.02 acres
Diane Fetzner // Shutterstock
4 / 63#4. Mount Rainier National Park (Washington)
- Distance: 321 miles
- Driving time: 7.7 hours
- Date founded: March 2, 1899
- 2025 visitors: 1,635,342 (#20 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 236,381.64 acres
Stephen Moehle // Shutterstock
5 / 63#5. Yosemite National Park (California)
- Distance: 381 miles
- Driving time: 9.5 hours
- Date founded: October 1, 1890
- 2025 visitors: 4,278,413 (#5 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 761,747.50 acres
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6 / 63#6. Olympic National Park (Washington)
- Distance: 386 miles
- Driving time: 9.2 hours
- Date founded: June 29, 1938
- 2025 visitors: 3,584,187 (#9 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 922,649.41 acres
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7 / 63#7. Pinnacles National Park (California)
- Distance: 427 miles
- Driving time: 8.5 hours
- Date founded: January 10, 2013
- 2025 visitors: 343,208 (#47 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 26,685.73 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
8 / 63#8. North Cascades National Park (Washington)
- Distance: 451 miles
- Driving time: 9.5 hours
- Date founded: October 2, 1968
- 2025 visitors: 46,925 (#57 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 504,780.94 acres
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9 / 63#9. Kings Canyon National Park (California)
- Distance: 469 miles
- Driving time: 12.8 hours
- Date founded: March 4, 1940
- 2025 visitors: 779,791 (#30 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 461,901.20 acres
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10 / 63#10. Sequoia National Park (California)
- Distance: 487 miles
- Driving time: 12.6 hours
- Date founded: September 25, 1890
- 2025 visitors: 1,378,337 (#23 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 404,062.63 acres
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11 / 63#11. Great Basin National Park (Nevada)
- Distance: 540 miles
- Driving time: 12.5 hours
- Date founded: October 27, 1986
- 2025 visitors: 161,210 (#54 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 77,180.00 acres
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12 / 63#12. Death Valley National Park (California, Nevada)
- Distance: 557 miles
- Driving time: 12.5 hours
- Date founded: October 31, 1994
- 2025 visitors: 1,320,134 (#24 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 3,408,406.73 acres
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13 / 63#13. Channel Islands National Park (California)
- Distance: 620 miles
- Date founded: March 5, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 227,186 (#51 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 249,561.00 acres
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14 / 63#14. Glacier National Park (Montana)
- Distance: 641 miles
- Date founded: May 11, 1910
- 2025 visitors: 3,136,557 (#10 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 1,013,125.99 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
15 / 63#15. Grand Teton National Park (Wyoming)
- Distance: 652 miles
- Driving time: 15.8 hours
- Date founded: February 26, 1929
- 2025 visitors: 3,800,648 (#8 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 310,044.36 acres
Galyna Andrushko // Shutterstock
16 / 63#16. Zion National Park (Utah)
- Distance: 660 miles
- Driving time: 16.1 hours
- Date founded: November 19, 1919
- 2025 visitors: 4,984,525 (#2 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 147,242.66 acres
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17 / 63#17. Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming, Montana, Idaho)
- Distance: 674 miles
- Driving time: 16.2 hours
- Date founded: March 1, 1872
- 2025 visitors: 4,762,988 (#3 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 2,219,790.71 acres
ronnybas frimages // Shutterstock
18 / 63#18. Bryce Canyon National Park (Utah)
- Distance: 689 miles
- Driving time: 17.0 hours
- Date founded: February 25, 1928
- 2025 visitors: 1,967,367 (#16 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 35,835.08 acres
Layne V. Naylor // Shutterstock
19 / 63#19. Capitol Reef National Park (Utah)
- Distance: 715 miles
- Driving time: 16.6 hours
- Date founded: December 18, 1971
- 2025 visitors: 1,388,476 (#22 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 241,904.50 acres
Dennis Silvas // Shutterstock
20 / 63#20. Joshua Tree National Park (California)
- Distance: 725 miles
- Driving time: 14.4 hours
- Date founded: October 31, 1994
- 2025 visitors: 2,932,644 (#12 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 795,155.85 acres
Josemaria Toscano // Shutterstock
21 / 63#21. Grand Canyon National Park (Arizona)
- Distance: 752 miles
- Driving time: 17.4 hours
- Date founded: February 26, 1919
- 2025 visitors: 4,430,653 (#4 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 1,201,647.03 acres
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22 / 63#22. Canyonlands National Park (Utah)
- Distance: 775 miles
- Driving time: 21.6 hours
- Date founded: September 12, 1964
- 2025 visitors: 796,057 (#29 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 337,597.83 acres
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23 / 63#23. Arches National Park (Utah)
- Distance: 779 miles
- Driving time: 16.5 hours
- Date founded: November 12, 1971
- 2025 visitors: 1,511,740 (#21 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 76,678.98 acres
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24 / 63#24. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (Colorado)
- Distance: 874 miles
- Driving time: 18.4 hours
- Date founded: October 21, 1999
- 2025 visitors: 250,086 (#50 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 30,779.83 acres
Sopotnicki // Shutterstock
25 / 63#25. Mesa Verde National Park (Colorado)
- Distance: 878 miles
- Driving time: 19.0 hours
- Date founded: June 29, 1906
- 2025 visitors: 463,130 (#43 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 52,485.17 acres
Felix Lipov // Shutterstock
26 / 63#26. Petrified Forest National Park (Arizona)
- Distance: 898 miles
- Driving time: 18.3 hours
- Date founded: December 9, 1962
- 2025 visitors: 315,951 (#48 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 221,390.21 acres
Anna Krivitskaya // Shutterstock
27 / 63#27. Rocky Mountain National Park (Colorado)
- Distance: 943 miles
- Driving time: 20.5 hours
- Date founded: January 26, 1915
- 2025 visitors: 4,171,431 (#6 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 265,807.25 acres
kojihirano // Shutterstock
28 / 63#28. Saguaro National Park (Arizona)
- Distance: 1,001 miles
- Driving time: 20.1 hours
- Date founded: October 14, 1994
- 2025 visitors: 847,749 (#28 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 92,867.42 acres
Kris Wiktor // Shutterstock
29 / 63#29. Great Sand Dunes National Park (Colorado)
- Distance: 1,008 miles
- Driving time: 21.9 hours
- Date founded: September 24, 2004
- 2025 visitors: 432,498 (#44 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 107,341.87 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
30 / 63#30. Wind Cave National Park (South Dakota)
- Distance: 1,019 miles
- Driving time: 21.6 hours
- Date founded: January 9, 1903
- 2025 visitors: 606,258 (#37 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 33,970.84 acres
Laurens Hoddenbagh // Shutterstock
31 / 63#31. Theodore Roosevelt National Park (North Dakota)
- Distance: 1,037 miles
- Driving time: 21.6 hours
- Date founded: November 10, 1978
- 2025 visitors: 729,893 (#33 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 70,446.89 acres
Matt Ragen // Shutterstock
32 / 63#32. Badlands National Park (South Dakota)
- Distance: 1,068 miles
- Driving time: 23.0 hours
- Date founded: November 10, 1978
- 2025 visitors: 1,139,361 (#26 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 242,755.94 acres
Galyna Andrushko // Shutterstock
33 / 63#33. White Sands National Park (New Mexico)
- Distance: 1,159 miles
- Driving time: 23.1 hours
- Date founded: December 20, 2019[111]
- 2025 visitors: 659,742 (#35 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 146,344.31 acres
ShuPhoto // Shutterstock
34 / 63#34. Guadalupe Mountains National Park (Texas)
- Distance: 1,255 miles
- Driving time: 25.0 hours
- Date founded: October 15, 1966
- 2025 visitors: 206,423 (#52 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 86,367.10 acres
Laurie Gronewold // Shutterstock
35 / 63#35. Glacier Bay National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 1,256 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 740,044 (#32 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 3,223,383.43 acres
Doug Meek // Shutterstock
36 / 63#36. Carlsbad Caverns National Park (New Mexico)
- Distance: 1,263 miles
- Driving time: 25.2 hours
- Date founded: May 14, 1930
- 2025 visitors: 410,778 (#46 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 46,766.45 acres
Eric Foltz // Shutterstock
37 / 63#37. Big Bend National Park (Texas)
- Distance: 1,450 miles
- Driving time: 29.2 hours
- Date founded: June 12, 1944
- 2025 visitors: 568,104 (#38 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 801,163.21 acres
Martin Capek // Shutterstock
38 / 63#38. Wrangell–St. Elias National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 1,499 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 108,840 (#55 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 8,323,146.48 acres
BlueBarronPhoto // Shutterstock
39 / 63#39. Voyageurs National Park (Minnesota)
- Distance: 1,539 miles
- Driving time: 30.7 hours
- Date founded: April 8, 1975
- 2025 visitors: 206,326 (#53 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 218,222.35 acres
Tomasz Wozniak // Shutterstock
40 / 63#40. Kenai Fjords National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 1,638 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 425,369 (#45 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 669,650.05 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
41 / 63#41. Hot Springs National Park (Arkansas)
- Distance: 1,732 miles
- Driving time: 34.4 hours
- Date founded: March 4, 1921
- 2025 visitors: 2,494,611 (#14 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 5,554.15 acres
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42 / 63#42. Isle Royale National Park (Michigan)
- Distance: 1,737 miles
- Driving time: 35.0 hours
- Date founded: April 3, 1940
- 2025 visitors: 29,091 (#60 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 571,790.30 acres
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43 / 63#43. Katmai National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 1,751 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 34,479 (#59 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 3,674,529.33 acres
Paul Brady Photography // Shutterstock
44 / 63#44. Gateway Arch National Park (Missouri)
- Distance: 1,766 miles
- Driving time: 31.4 hours
- Date founded: February 22, 2018[47]
- 2025 visitors: 2,209,028 (#15 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 192.83 acres
Malachi Jacobs // Shutterstock
45 / 63#45. Lake Clark National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 1,786 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 19,778 (#61 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 2,619,816.49 acres
Marc Cappelletti // Shutterstock
46 / 63#46. Denali National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 1,807 miles
- Date founded: February 26, 1917
- 2025 visitors: 543,300 (#39 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 4,740,911.16 acres
Delmas Lehman // Shutterstock
47 / 63#47. Indiana Dunes National Park (Indiana)
- Distance: 1,866 miles
- Driving time: 33.0 hours
- Date founded: February 15, 2019
- 2025 visitors: 2,629,497 (#13 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 15,349.08 acres
Wangkun Jia // Shutterstock
48 / 63#48. Mammoth Cave National Park (Kentucky)
- Distance: 2,010 miles
- Driving time: 36.4 hours
- Date founded: July 1, 1941
- 2025 visitors: 660,734 (#34 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 54,011.91 acres
BlueBarronPhoto // Shutterstock
49 / 63#49. Gates of the Arctic National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 2,072 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 14,923 (#62 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 7,523,897.45 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
50 / 63#50. Cuyahoga Valley National Park (Ohio)
- Distance: 2,149 miles
- Driving time: 37.6 hours
- Date founded: October 11, 2000
- 2025 visitors: 3,025,325 (#11 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 32,571.88 acres
ZakZeinert // Shutterstock
51 / 63#51. Great Smoky Mountains National Park (North Carolina, Tennessee)
- Distance: 2,182 miles
- Driving time: 39.7 hours
- Date founded: June 15, 1934
- 2025 visitors: 11,527,939 (#1 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 522,426.88 acres
BlueBarronPhoto // Shutterstock
52 / 63#52. Kobuk Valley National Park (Alaska)
- Distance: 2,185 miles
- Date founded: December 2, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 7,786 (#63 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 1,750,716.16 acres
Steve Heap // Shutterstock
53 / 63#53. New River Gorge National Park (West Virginia)
- Distance: 2,243 miles
- Driving time: 40.1 hours
- Date founded: December 27, 2020
- 2025 visitors: 1,958,440 (#17 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 7,021 acres
Jon Bilous // Shutterstock
54 / 63#54. Shenandoah National Park (Virginia)
- Distance: 2,370 miles
- Driving time: 43.6 hours
- Date founded: December 26, 1935
- 2025 visitors: 1,682,152 (#19 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 199,223.77 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
55 / 63#55. Congaree National Park (South Carolina)
- Distance: 2,380 miles
- Driving time: 43.8 hours
- Date founded: November 10, 2003
- 2025 visitors: 287,833 (#49 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 26,476.47 acres
MH Anderson Photography // Shutterstock
56 / 63#56. Haleakalā National Park (Hawaii)
- Distance: 2,409 miles
- Date founded: July 1, 1961
- 2025 visitors: 853,711 (#27 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 33,264.62 acres
jo Crebbin // Shutterstock
57 / 63#57. Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park (Hawaii)
- Distance: 2,433 miles
- Date founded: August 1, 1916
- 2025 visitors: 1,877,854 (#18 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 325,605.28 acres
Varina C // Shutterstock
58 / 63#58. Dry Tortugas National Park (Florida)
- Distance: 2,616 miles
- Driving time: 53.3 hours
- Date founded: October 26, 1992
- 2025 visitors: 89,355 (#56 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 64,701.22 acres
Simon Dannhauer // Shutterstock
59 / 63#59. Everglades National Park (Florida)
- Distance: 2,684 miles
- Driving time: 51.5 hours
- Date founded: May 30, 1934
- 2025 visitors: 778,198 (#31 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 1,508,938.57 acres
Claudia G Cooper // Shutterstock
60 / 63#60. Biscayne National Park (Florida)
- Distance: 2,713 miles
- Driving time: 50.0 hours
- Date founded: June 28, 1980
- 2025 visitors: 486,567 (#41 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 172,971.11 acres
Romiana Lee // Shutterstock
61 / 63#61. Acadia National Park (Maine)
- Distance: 2,738 miles
- Driving time: 51.9 hours
- Date founded: February 26, 1919
- 2025 visitors: 4,079,318 (#7 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 49,076.63 acres
Sean Pavone // Shutterstock
62 / 63#62. Virgin Islands National Park (U.S. Virgin Islands)
- Distance: 3,798 miles
- Date founded: August 2, 1956
- 2025 visitors: 471,074 (#42 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 15,052.53 acres
Lloyd Wallin Photography // Shutterstock
63 / 63#63. National Park of American Samoa (American Samoa)
- Distance: 4,913 miles
- Date founded: October 31, 1988
- 2025 visitors: 43,258 (#58 highest among all national parks)
- Park area: 8,256.67 acres
